


A Lifetime and Sixteen Years

by RoonilWazlibMalfoy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Horcrux Hunting, M/M, One Shot, Saving the World, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 15:36:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21255674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoonilWazlibMalfoy/pseuds/RoonilWazlibMalfoy
Summary: Severus Snape is done with Dumbledore's meddling and decides to do some meddling of his own.





	A Lifetime and Sixteen Years

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Hogwarts Facebook group story prompt challenge, prompt #2.

Severus dutifully worked on the meddling old man's cursed hand and listened carefully to what he was saying. The more that Dumbledore explained, the more Severus felt rage rising up inside him. As if it wasn't enough for the old man to sacrifice himself, he planned to put Draco in great danger, to rely on three children to defeat the Dark Lord, and ultimately he planned to let Harry die. And of course, since the old man would be dead, it would be up to Severus to orchestrate it all. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose in aggravation as he headed back to his chambers after the meeting. "I can't do this," he thought. "I don't want to do this anymore." And with that thought, he had made his decision. Severus had never been a hasty man, never been a reckless man. Every time he had acted without thought, it had turned out poorly for him. But he no longer had anything to lose. If this killed him, so be it. If it didn't... well, maybe things could be different.

He had painstakingly crafted a potion. There was no way to test it, but he trusted in his own genius. The only thing it could do is kill him, and he was certain there were worse ways to go. But if it worked, he'd find himself a lifetime away. He'd have the chance to do some meddling of his own, on his own terms. 

He took the potion from a hidden compartment in his desk and sat down, studying it, waiting. His black eyes were clear and thoughtful throughout the night. When his clock chimed 5 AM, he uncorked the vial. Death Eaters were rarely active past 3, so he hoped that this would place him at a good window of time. He had no idea exactly what he was jumping in to. He had no idea where he'd been exactly 16 years ago. He placed the vial to his lips and drank. 

His eyes never once dulled, even as the convulsions started. This was his moment. Do or die. 

He had no idea how much later it was - how much earlier it was - when he awoke, but he knew at once that he'd been successful. His bones no longer ached, his joints hadn't felt so light in years. He was warm and comfortable in a way he couldn't remember being. He was in a bed in a dark room and there was a warm body pressed against his. 

"Regulus..." he breathed in awe. He had done everything he could to bury the memory of Regulus, the guilt he felt due to their fight, the pain of losing him forever. If only he had believed in Regulus, if only he had trusted him, it wouldn't have come to this. If all went well, he could fix more than one dire mistake of his youth. 

Regulus shifted in his arms and murmured, "You okay, Sev?" 

Severus tightened his old on the other man and breathed in the scent of his soft hair. "I'm frightened, Regulus," he whispered back. 

Regulus sat up, wandlessly lit the candles in the room, and gazed at Severus. "It'll be alright, Sev," he said softly. "Kreacher will be back soon and he'll make us some tea. Soon we'll win this war and we'll have everything we ever wanted."

"Oh no," thought Severus wildly. This was the night. This was their disagreement. This is when everything went so horribly wrong. Well. In for a knut, in for a galleon. He needed Regulus. He couldn't lose him again. In order to do that, the other man needed to know everything. This argument couldn't happen. 

And so he told Regulus everything that happened. The house elf and the fight. The prophecy. The horcruxes. The madness of the Dark Lord and the loss of so much life. Dumbledore and the Order. The potion and how Severus came to be back in this place. Lily. Harry. 

Regulus listened with incredulity at first, then shock. He didn't interrupt Severus and when his tale was finished, Regulus had no choice but to believe. Even if he hadn't believed, the moment when Kreacher popped back in to the room, looking as if he was knocking on death's door after helping the Dark Lord, was enough to convince him. He turned shocked grey eyes back to Severus, not knowing what to say. It was true. All of it was true. And it was utterly horrifying. 

"Help me make it right, Regulus," Severus pleaded as he reached a pale hand toward Regulus. Regulus didn't even hesitate to grasp it. He pulled Severus toward him and cupped his chin, kissing him softly. 

"Anything," Regulus said sincerely, staring in to the darkness of his lover's eyes. "I'll do anything to help you, Severus. We will fix this if it's the last thing we do."

And so they made a plan. It wouldn't be easy and they knew it. But with Severus' knowledge of the events that had happened, it would be doable. They just had to be careful. No more hasty decisions. No more loyalty to Dark Lords and meddling men. They employed every ounce of cunning they possessed and made every move with utmost care. 

From the Black family vault, Regulus obtained a goblin made dagger. Despite it's being in the family for years, he paid the goblins well for it before leaving the bank. Who knew when they'd need the goblins on their side? 

Dressed all in black, cowl covering his face, Severus ventured into Knockturn Alley. It wasn't easy to find pure basilisk venom, but after much searching, he managed it. They coated the dagger in venom and set out to destroy the rogue shards of the Dark Lord's soul. They were careful, Slytherin self preservation at the front of their minds, as they dismantled the traps surrounding the horcruxes. They didn't need to worry about the snake or the boy, which helped, but it was quite a search, even with only five items to find. 

The locket and the ring were easy, as they already knew the locations. Regulus sweet talked his "favorite" cousin into showing him her vault and he deftly swapped the cup for a fake while she bragged about her new husband's wealth. Severus went to Malfoy Manor under the pretense of borrowing a book from their vast library. He did borrow a book, of sorts, but he had no intention of returning the foul thing, even after it had lost whatever vile worth it had possessed, even after ink flowed from it like blood. 

The diadem was the one that posed the most difficulty, but even that was not an insurmountable challenge. They played this game the same way that it had gone 16 years ago. Severus overheard the prophecy and he told the Dark Lord of it. Severus ran to Dumbledore, begging him to save his old friend's life. And as a way to show his sincerity, he told the old man that the Dark Lord had a hidden dark artifact within Hogwarts castle. He brought Dumbledore to it and destroyed it in front of him. He thought he caught a twinkle in the old man's blue eyes as he left, but chalked it up to paranoia. The old man couldn't possibly know the lengths that Severus had gone to to accomplish all of this. 

And with that all of the horcruxes were gone and the Dark Lord, currently obsessing over the prophecy, was none the wiser. Severus and Regulus held each other tightly in their bed in 12 Grimmauld Place, their emotions running wildly between fear and excitement as they waited for the final part, the most difficult part, the most potentially lethal part of their plan to come together. 

On the evening of October 31, the Death Eaters were called together. Severus and Regulus went and listened as the Dark Lord spoke of his own glory, his intentions to crush his enemies. And when he dismissed them, they didn't go home as Severus had done the first time around. They went to Godric's Hollow.

They couldn't see the Potter's house, protected as it currently was by a traitor's oath. But they could feel the heavy magic around it. They hid as close as they could get and waited. 

They watched as costumed children paraded through the neighborhood. They tensed up as they watched the Dark Lord stalk past them, exchanging smirks as a small boy complimented the Dark Lord's "costume." They disillusioned themselves and followed him, wands held aloft, dagger at the ready. 

When the Dark Lord stopped in front of nothing, they knew he had reached the Potter's house. He raised his wand to blast open their door and then stopped short. A wet sounding gasp fell from his snake-like lips as Regulus ran him through with the dagger. Severus pulled the Dark Lord's wand from his loosened grip and then the men cancelled their disillusionment charms, wanting him to know that he was truly dead and at whose hands. 

"My Lord," Regulus said with a sarcastic bow. "This ends tonight."

"We know of your horcruxes, my Lord," Severus said softly. "Well," he paused, "we knew of them. And we destroyed them all."

Blood poured from Voldemort's mouth as he tried to object, to protest that his own followers could have done such a thing. But he couldn't even get the words out. The angry light in his red eyes faded and the Dark Lord was no more. 

The sudden end of the war caused mild chaos in the wizarding world, but Severus and Regulus had no part of it. They retreated to Grimmauld Place and rested, letting the world take care of itself. Dumbledore made sure their deeds were known and presented them both with Orders of Merlin, first class. That ever present twinkle shone in his blue eyes as he looked proudly at them. 

All of this was enough to mend Severus' broken relationship with his dear old friend Lily, and to mend Regulus' broken relationship with his beloved brother. Kreacher found himself cooking for a house full at Christmas as the Marauders slowly made friends with the Slytherins. Severus and Regulus found themselves at the Potter's house for Harry's second birthday and over the coming years Severus got to know the boy in a much better context than he previously had. 

Severus was able to set up his own potions lab and build a career as the genius that he was. He never had to teach. He never had to spend a lifetime proving himself again and again and still being hated. He had lived that life already and he never wanted to do it again. But looking around at his friends, at his lover, at the lives they were all able to live, he felt that the lifetime he had given had been worth it.


End file.
